Clockwork Wings
by MsMonochrome
Summary: It all started with that mechanical bird Levi commissioned a bratty mechanic to make for his future fiance, who would have thought it would be the thing that brought them together?
1. Brass Goggles

The air was full of the sound of whirring gears and the smell of burning coal hung heavily in the workshop as the boy bent over the table, soldering iron in hand as he peered through the hands-free magnifying glass at his project. It was a bird made mostly from clock parts and it'd been frustrating him for days; the client wanted the bird to sing, but the things needed to make that happen would also make the machine too big compared to the real thing. In order to fix this the brunet had to alter a majority of the pieces, and he'd pulled several all-nighters already since this was a rush job. He should have charged more for the stupid thing, with all the grief it was giving him.

A knock echoed through the dimly-lit room and the boy looked up from his work for the first time in hours.

"It's open." He called out as he lifted the goggles onto his forehead, rested his grimy, gloved hands on his crossed legs, and rocking back and forth slightly on the stool he sat upon. There were dark circles beneath the boy's blue-green eyes as he stared blearily in the direction of the workshop door and his brown hair stuck up at odd angles due to all the times he'd dragged his fingers through it.

"How's my order coming along?" A short man with black hair neatly trimmed in an undercut, gray eyes, and a permanently bored expression came into sight, scowling at the cluttered workspace.

"It's not finished yet sir, I've run into some unexpected problems in the design, it'll probably take a few more hours at the very least." The brunet turned back to his work, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead and leaving a streak of grease behind.

"I came to you because I heard that you were the best there is, was I mistaken?" The man folded his arms and kept glancing around the dark workspace as though something would fall over or attack him.

"I wouldn't say I'm the best, although I appreciate the complement sir." He adjusted his goggles slightly. "This is a delicate process though, and it takes time if you want it done properly."

"I expected to find someone competent when I came here with this task, but it seems like you're merely a brat."

"I'm not a brat, I have a name you know, it's Eren, and you didn't have to ask me to make this for you if you thought I was that unskilled." A sigh escaped his lips. "My father was the main mechanic here, but he disappeared over a year ago and I've been left to pick up the pieces he left behind, so all the good things you've heard about this place were thanks to him."

"Sorry to hear about that, but what does that have to do with you finishing my order? I need it for tonight." It was the man's turn to run his fingers through his hair.

"If you need it by tonight you should leave me alone to work and come back later, this stuff requires concentration you know. I'll have it done by then, so just find something to do in the meantime, sir," every time the boy, Eren, referred to the man as "sir" it was with an air of distaste, like the word tasted sour on his tongue. "What do you need it for anyway?"

"I plan on proposing to my lady tonight, I want it to sing when I present to her the ring."

"Must be a lucky lady, receiving a proposal of such grandeur."

"I guess, it's an arranged marriage but I may as well make the best of it. She's a nice enough person so… Why am I talking to you about this?"

"Couldn't even begin to tell you. Anyway, I'm sure you have lots to do to prep for tonight, if you swing by around six I should be done by then."

The short man turned on his heel and began to make his way towards the entrance, doing his best to dodge the piles of copper and brass littered around the cramped workshop.

"One more thing sir, what is your name?"

"It's Levi," he replied, his voice devoid of any emotion. "You best have that bird finished by the time I come back or I'll have your head."

"If it isn't done I'll present it to you on a silver platter, does that sound good sir?" Eren continued to talk without looking at his client. "Now leave me to do my work or I can't guarantee its completion."

Levi left the room without a second glance back to the boy hard at work in the darkness, his only light provided by a few guttering candles.

* * *

Hours later Levi was adjusting his cravat when the clock began to chime, alerting him to the fact it was five-thirty, he should start heading over to Yeager Mechanics to check on the state of his order, if that kid wasn't finished yet he would receive a swift kick right where it would hurt most. The carriage was waiting for him when he stepped outside the manor and he promptly got into it after giving the address for the dingy workshop to the driver, then he gazed out the window, feeling every bump of the wheels over the uneven cobblestone road.

His thoughts kept drifting to Petra, the woman his parents wanted him to marry so they could improve their social status, then to that boy, Aaron was it? No, it was Eren, how piercing his gaze had been, for the few seconds he'd seen it; those greenish-blue eyes, like two pools of water, had been clearly visible even in the darkness of the small room. He forced himself to think of Petra once more, the girl was pretty, with her golden-brown hair and large eyes, she was smart, her father being a doctor who'd paid for all his children to go to school, and she came from a good family. Why should he, Rivaille, who was a nobleman, be entranced by some boy he'd met only a few days ago, a boy who was nothing more than a mechanic, someone far below him in terms of rank; it was absurd, sheer lunacy, and he forced all thoughts of Eren out of his head until the carriage pulled up in front of the workshop.

Once inside Levi could hardly see a thing, most of the candles that had barely illuminated the room before seemed to have burned out and he was forced to return to the carriage and grab a lantern in order to venture into the messy space. Eren was fast asleep on the desk, his head resting on his hands, the bird fully assembled and sitting several inches to the left of the boy.

"Oy, kid," The man addressed the brunet in an irritated voice and poked him with his cane. "Wake up, or is it your business' custom to ignore a customer when they pick up their orders?"

Eren shifted slightly and rose into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes with one hand to get the sleep out of them. "I pulled three all-nighters working on your stupid bird, if you hadn't given me a rush order I wouldn't have needed to rest so badly. Next time you have such a complex project for anyone to work on, don't give them less than a week to do it."

"Is it finished? Levi asked, motioning to the clockwork bird with the lantern he still clutched tight in his hand.

"Yes, it's finished, I completed it less than an hour ago, for your information." The boy picked up a small clock key and inserted it into the bird's back and began winding it up, the machine instantly whirred to life, chirping and hopping around on the work desk before it began to sing. The melody was unlike anything Rivaille had ever heard in his life, it didn't sound like anything in particular, there was no instrument that could compare to the noise that the bird was making, and it resonated within him like a separate heartbeat, making him feel like he'd been caught in a sudden summer rain. When the song was over he felt like crying, and he was forced to cough in order to clear his throat.

"That, that was beautiful," Levi broke the silence and wasn't at all surprised to hear his voice was a little hoarse. "How did you do that?"

"I took a music box and messed with the disks inside it until they produced a sound I thought would fit the occasion, this was after modifying them to make them fit inside the bird, which took some time. I'm pretty sure I grinded my fingertips off as well," Eren smiled up at the man, looking ever so innocent. "Do you like it?"

"I already said it was beautiful you brat, how much more do you want me to praise you?"

"I can't help it, I need a daily dose of complements in order to function properly, if I don't get it then, just like one of these machines," he gestured around the workshop." I'll stop working." The boy stood up from the desk and Levi noticed he was half a head shorter than Eren, something that irked him greatly; after a few minutes of rummaging around the brunet seemed to have found what he was looking for, a small wooden box that looked like it would fit the bird perfectly. The inside was lined with purple velvet that contrasted with the silver and brass of the machine in a very attractive manner, which made the man wonder if this brat had made the box as well as the bird.

"I figure you should present this in a nice way, since apparently tonight is a very important occasion." Eren's words snapped Levi out of the temporary daze he was in, he was proposing to Petra tonight, he had to get moving or he would be late for dinner with her. The short man pulled out a leather pouch full of coins and handed to the brunet, taking the box with the bird in it and placing it into his coat pocket. He began to leave but turned back, calling to Eren.

"I'll come back if I need something else from you. You do nice work kid." A grin temporarily lit up Levi's face, and then the man was gone, leaving a very confused Eren behind to wonder what had just happened as he tried to hide his blush with one hand.

* * *

I hate being me sometimes, someone on twitter asked for a steampunk SnK fic, and because I have too many ideas I started working on this. I tried making it not be Ereri, but it just sort of happened. It helps I was already working on fics for this series, which I may never post.

Mucho thanks to shota_rivaille and CleanCaptain on twitter, without these two it might never have happened.

Ahhahahhaha nanowrimo's coming up and I need to plan my story for that but, fanfics...


	2. Sound of Tomorrow

The night was perfect, nice enough to allow Levi and Petra to sit outside on the patio while they waited for their meals to arrive, watching the sun set behind the forest just outside town. He ordered grilled salmon while she ordered fettuccine alfredo with shrimp, and they made quiet conversation about various things, Rivalle's work in the military and her siblings to name a few. Then, after a dessert of fruit tarts for the two of them it was time to pull out the two boxes he held in his pocket.

First he took the bird out of it's velvet-lined box and set it on the table, making sure to wind it up so that it would sing that beautiful song once more. Then he removed the smaller box and knelt on one knee before Petra, who held her hand in front of her face, tears starting to fill her eyes.

"Rivaille, what?" She managed to get only a few words out before he raised a hand, motioning for silence.

"Petra, I know we originally were introduced to each other because my family is wealthy and your family has a good social standing, but when I met you my world changed, and I know that being beside you will do me nothing but good. Your smile lights up my life and I want to spend the rest of my life by your side; so Petra, will you do me the honor of being my bride? Will you marry me?"

There was silence in the restaurant after his speech, the occupants of other tables having noticed what was going on and watching in, anxious to see what the response would be.

"Levi..." Petra's hands were trembling in front of her face and she was dangerously close to crying now. "Levi, I, this is so sudden I don't know what to say."

"Say yes, marry me." Rivaille's voice was quiet but imploring.

"I really enjoy spending time with you, you're a wonderful person, but I'm afraid I can't. I... I like someone else. I'm so sorry Levi." Her voice was barely audible and she was forced to clasp her hands together in order to prevent them from shaking too badly.

The other people in the restaurant had gone back to talking with one another, trying to pretend they hadn't seen the rejection that had just taken place. Levi rose to his feet once more, pocketing both the bird, which had stopped singing, and the ring in one fluid movement and trying not to blush from sheer embarrassment.

"Well then, I wish you all the best Petra, I had a wonderful dinner, good night." He managed to get the words out before turning towards the door and exiting the building as fast as he possibly could.

Rather than wait for his carriage, which wasn't supposed to arrive for at least another thirty minutes, Rivaille stormed off down the street in no particular direction, his only goal being to get as far from that fiasco as possible. He shoved his gloved hands into his pockets, his mind unable to stop replaying the events of the last ten minutes.

Where had he gone wrong? What had he messed up with? Had he even messed up? No, it hadn't been him, he just wasn't the one for Petra, she loved someone else and there was nothing he could do to change her mind. Levi had his chance with her, and he had to move on from her now. Sure his parents would be mad, but that wasn't his fault, it wasn't his problem anymore, he had to focus on other things, the war with the titans being most important right now. He hated those things, they'd killed so many of his friends, his comrades, and they seemed no closer to finding their weakness than they had been when the war first started. It was a little more than irritating, fighting and fighting without any end in sight.

Somehow while he was mulling over his thoughts Levi's feet had taken him to the street where Yeager Mechanics was located, and he noticed the lantern hanging outside the workshop was still lit, hopefully that meant someone was inside. The door creaked when he opened it, but even though it the world outside was now dark the room was no brighter than it had been in the afternoon.

"Levi? What brings you here?" Eren was wiping his hands off on an already filthy towel, goggles hanging around his neck and grease streaks on his face.

"The hell I know kid, I just wound up here and decided to say hi I guess." The man raked his fingers though his dark hair, one hand still in his pocket, and leaned up against the doorframe.

"Wanted to brag about how successful your evening was?"

"Hardly, she said no. Apparently some other man has won my fair lady's heart and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Are you hear to tell me that my machine had something to do with it?" The boy's voice was harsh, as though he dared Rivaille to say yes.

"I just told you that she loves someone else, your bird did everything perfectly, it was just, I'm not the one for her alright?"

Eren took a long look into the man's eyes, carefully stepping closer to him as though approaching an angry lion. "You sound like you could use a drink."

"You sure you're old enough to drink kid?" Levi raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I said a drink, that doesn't necessarily mean an alcoholic drink, for me at least; the bars know my face, they know I'm only nineteen. That doesn't mean I can't buy you a beer or two, what do you say to that?" The brunet clapped the shorter man on the shoulder. "You can drink your sorrows away and complain to me about how horrible your life is and I get a night away from this dingy workshop."

Rivaille glanced up into those captivating eyes and gave a shy smile. "That sounds nice, where did you plan on going?"

* * *

Half an hour later Eren and Rivaille were at a bar called Rosa, Levi taking sips from his second tankard of beer and the teen drinking water since the bartender wouldn't allow him anything stronger than soda. The man had been silent since they'd arrived, clearly mulling over the events of that day and wondering where he'd gone wrong.

"I never wanted to marry her, I told you that right?" His voice was only slightly slurred, but something told Eren that the only reason Levi was telling him this was due to the alcohol. "My parents wanted me to marry her because of her social status, hoping that it would improve ours, and that her family would agree because we're wealthy. I assumed that I'd fall in love with her eventually and that we could live a nice life together, but, it wasn't what I really wanted."

"What do you want in your life?" The brunet took a sip of water, not daring to look at the older man lest he stop talking.

"I've never really thought about it much, I've always been told what I'm going to do so I've never gotten the chance to imagine what my life could be like if I had the chance to live it however I wanted. It's sad really, nobles have plenty of food, a roof over their head that never leaks, but they walk on a tightrope all the time. There are so many rules we have to follow, etiquette and formalities to learn, and other shit we have to deal with that we don't have time to think for ourselves." Rivaille's voice was mournful and he gulped down several mouthfuls of beer after getting the words out.

"If it's not marriage problems I'm dealing with it's those damn titans, every day we lose more and more soldiers to those beasts and we're no closer to finding out how to kill them. We're struggling to keep them at bay with moats but it's not enough, Hanji thinks the neck's their weak point but we have no way to access that shitty area so were're basically screwed as it is."

"What if you had some kind of glider? You could get on a building and glide over to the neck, then I dunno, throw a bomb?" There was a gleam in Eren's eyes now, something Levi hadn't seen yet, and something about it made him want to trust the brat.

"Look kid, if you could design some machine that could help us fight the titan's you'd be a lifesaver, that is, if you can do it."

The brunet's eyes were locked on the older man's with a fierceness in them he hadn't seen since the battlefield. "Believe me, I will."

* * *

Believe it or not this was all written today, most of it after a five and a half hour class where I got burned twice. I have no idea if there will be another chapter or if I'll take the time to actually plan this story out along with the other half of my Nanowrimo novel.

I was going to initially have Petra say yes, but then Levi would have to dump her later on and that would be weird so I just made her say no so we could have drunken bonding time.

I'm exhausted. Night.

ps. There will be no smut in this fic. I can't write it, end of story. If a reader wants to try their hand at writing some feel free to contact me and I'll see where we can work it into the canon plot, although it will have to be published on your account as some kind of side story. Ciou


	3. Prelude to a Dream

It looked like Eren would be pulling several more all-nighters if he wanted to finish his glider design before the next meeting of the military superiors, at which Levi would present the blueprint for their feedback. If the glider was thought to be useful in the fight against titans then the mechanic would be asked to build a prototype, then again he would actually have to finish the design before any of that would be possible.

Sadly the previous sleepless nights had resulted in making the brunet's mind sluggish, and he was forced to rest before he could put any decent thoughts onto paper, only to be awoken early the next morning by someone yelling at him from the street below. The workshop was below a small apartment and it was impossible to hear someone knocking on the door downstairs from the bedroom, especially when Eren hadn't slept in days, and since there was no doorbell whoever it was had resorted to shouting in order to get the teen's attention.

"Oy, brat! It's one in the afternoon! How long do you plan on keeping me waiting?" It was Levi, that much was clear from the tone of voice, and he was not pleased, which was also obvious. Sticking his head out the window Eren called out to the man below "I just woke up you fucking asshole! You try pulling three all-nighters and not being tired afterwards!"

"Well sorry but that's not my problem. You promised to help me and I expect you to keep it, so you have five minutes to get your ass down here before I break down this door. Starting now"

"Fuck you." The brunet called back in response as he slammed the window shut and flung open his closet door and pulled out a shirt and overalls, hastily getting dressed as soon as possible, silently cursing the world under his breath the entire time. Five minutes later he let Levi into the workshop and the short man frowned up at him, his greeting being "what took you so long?" Eren was forced to believe that the man from last night only came out after a heavy dose of drinking, and probably a really rough day.

"For your information the reason I stayed up three nights in a row was so I would finish that stupid bird, which didn't end up being useful, so those days were essentially a waste of time, thanks for that by the way."

"What the fuck are you upset about? You got paid didn't you? I'm the one who got fucking rejected, you don't think that affects me more than it affects you?" Levi's voice was hurt, and it caused the teen to remember that it was true, he had no real reason to be upset, except he felt like he was responsible for what happened to the man.

"Moving on from that, how are you coming along on that glider design?" The venom was gone from his voice now and he seemed desperate to change the subject to a better one.

"It's looking more like it'll be wings, with a steam-powered engine to power them, but the weight distribution and steering controls look like they'll pose a challenge." Eren cleared off his desk with a swiping motion that knocked gears and crumpled pieces of paper onto the floor, causing Levi to wince in discomfort. The boy pulled out another large piece of parchment in addition to a bottle of ink and a quill pen, dipping the pen into the inkwell and starting to sketch out lines and circles.

"I'm not going to lie to you, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Figured you wouldn't. Why are you the person talking to me if you don't know a thing about machines? It seems counterproductive to me, but that's just my opinion."

"It's because I'm the only one who believes a little snot-rag like you could be useful to the military. If not for me you'd be continuing to do whatever you do for the rest of your life, so be grateful you little shit."

"You don't have to stick around if you do-" He stopped speaking at the sound of rapid footfalls which could be heard outside and then the workshop door was flung open and a tall girl with straight black hair and a red scarf burst into the cluttered room, clutching her chest and gasping for breath. "Eren!" she called out, her eyes wide and fearful. "I heard… Armin said you were doing something for the military?"

"Oh, hey Mikasa!" The brunet seemed unfazed by what had just been asked.

"Don't you 'hey Mikasa' me. I asked you a question now answer it. What the hell are you doing cooperating with those people? You know it's thanks to them that mom is-" She broke off, spotting Levi who stood casually next to the boy's work desk; then her eyes fastened on the short man and she glared at him. "You're that Lance Corporal! What are you doing with Eren?"

"Mikasa calm down, I'm helping to come up with a machine that will help fight the titans. You don't have to worry about it, I'm not in any trouble or anything like that."

"The titans?!" the girl seemed to only get more angry upon hearing those words. "You shouldn't have anything to do with them! You're just a citizen, not a soldier, you know mom didn't want you joining them."

"And you're not my mom Mikasa! I want to do something to help humanity; people are killed by those titans every day and if there's something I can do to help I'll do it!"

Levi didn't really understand what was going on, the girl, Mikasa, was she dating Eren or something, stormed out of the workshop in a huff. It was obvious that the two teens disagreed about something, something that had to do with the military, and the titans in particular.

Once she'd left there was a heavy silence in the room, Eren continued to sketch away, every few minutes he'd crumple up the piece of paper he was working on and throw it over his shoulder onto an already mountainous pile behind him. Occasionally he'd mutter under his breath, tongue held between pursed lips as he worked, or get up to pull out a battered notebook and check what was inside it before comparing it to what he'd drawn and sighing.

After nearly an hour of this pattern Levi was asleep on the stool the brunet had uncovered for him, after rigorously dusting it off of course, when suddenly Eren was shaking him awake, a wide smile on his face.

"What is it kid?" The man asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I found something I think will be useful, some of my father's old notes contained blueprints for a flying machine; I think if I combined them with some of my own plans I'll be able to create a final design to present at the meeting." Eren's voice was excited, and his teal eyes shone with an ecstatic light.

"What time is it?" Rivaille groaned, unfolding his legs and slumping forward on the stool, his neck was sore from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position.

"Half past three," the boy replied, handing the shorter man a cup of coffee with another smile. "I did say you didn't have to stay here if you didn't want to, I mean, it's pretty boring work for anyone not involved in it."

"You started to say that stuff, but we were interrupted in our little conversation when your girlfriend showed up and started freaking out." Levi took a sip of the coffee and was surprised to find that it wasn't terrible. "What was up with that by the way?"

"Mikasa?" Eren sounded both confused and offended, it was clear that the man was wrong in his thinking the boy and girl were more than mere friends. "Mikasa's my sister."

"You don't look like siblings."

"We took her in when her parents were murdered, why are you even bringing this up? Our relationship has nothing to do with you; I hardly know you and you hardly know me; at most we're business partners, so stay out of my personal life, got it?"

Levi was taken aback by the sudden harshness in the brunet's voice, he hadn't expected that the hardworking, easygoing kid was capable of sounding so angry. "Woah, sorry kid, didn't mean to intrude, I was just curious, that's all no disrespect to your family. I've been told that I have trouble reading the mood and refraining from saying things that I probably shouldn't say. I shouldn't have assumed the two of you had anything going on between you and I'm sorry for that"

"I accept your apology, for now. The next time you say anything rude about my family, my work, my friends, or myself I won't hesitate to let you know how I feel."

"I'll consider myself warned then."

* * *

It's not just you, this chapter is really boring. It was really hard to write as well, which is why it took so long. In the future I'll try and keep my updates more regular, well except for November, I'll probably be on hiatus then, due to Nanowrimo.

Also, I appreciate every single watch, favorite, review, kudos, even every view. They make me feel like people actually care about my writing, and as a broke college student with depression, well, it gets me through the day.

I seriously love you all, and I forget to tell all you readers that because it's usually late when I post these chapters.

I also changed the chapter titles, kudos if you recognize the theme.


	4. On Top of the Universe

With the eyes of everyone in the room upon him Eren felt as though he were under the lens of a microscope, unable to make a single error in anything he did out of fear no one would take him seriously. He had one shot at presenting his design to the higher-ups and if he messed up he would be sent out the door in seconds, people already thought he was a foolish kid and it was only thanks to Levi that he was talking to them at all, a detail which he wasn't allowed to forget. The older man had pulled him aside before the meeting and threatened him with death by humiliation if anything went wrong today.

With the discovery of his father's journals it became possible to create a blueprint of his prototype wing design, although it was more like a cross between a glider and wings made up of a metal frame attached to a leather harness and covered with a stiff canvas. There would be a small motor on the harness which would power the wings and allow the wearer to gain altitude, but it was capable of being turned off so the wearer could also lock the wings and glide from rooftop to rooftop in order to attack the titans. On the harness would be twin swords constructed from ultra-hardened steel so they would be able to withstand the hot temperatures of the titan's skin.

Levi's acquaintance, Hanji, had been over to the workshop multiple times over the week Eren had spent working on his design; she was a fountain of knowledge about titans, some of it very random and irrelevant when it came to designing a weapon to fight them with, but most of it was useful, she also knew quite a bit about machines, which was nice. Hanji was an androgynous person who refused to tell whether or not they were male or female, even so the boy assumed they were female, just from the way they acted. The brunet liked Hanji, the "glasses freak," as they were called by the short man, was nice to spend time with; they didn't judge Eren for only being nineteen and having to manage the shop by himself since his father had been missing almost a year now.

One whole year, he shivered, having not thought about it in weeks, months even, not since Mikasa had brought it up when she asked if he wondered whether or not he was still alive; that had been a tense conversation, Eren ended up not speaking to his sister for three days after it had ended. After his mother's death the boy's father had started falling apart mentally, forgetting how old his son was or forgetting who his daughter was entirely, something that alarmed both of them, and things only went downhill from there. Grisha Yeager had been heralded as a genius in the field of mechanics, but he became unable to work on anything business related, instead choosing to focus on building an automaton replica of his deceased wife, something which deeply disturbed both his children beyond belief. After the disappearance the unfinished creation had been tossed into the basement, where it hopefully would never see the light of day again.

Eren finished speaking and clasped his sweaty hands behind his back so as not to show how nervous he was, his eyes landed on a blond man with his chin resting on one hand in an inquisitive manner and staring the brunet right in the eye as though watching for him to make a mistake. The man's blue gaze was unnerving, but the boy managed to stand his ground and meet it without wavering, which was something like a personal victory in his book.

"So, you're name's Eren is it?" The man at the head of the table spoke up, looking not at the brunet but at the papers clutched in his hand.

"Yes sir, Eren Yeager." The teen managed to get the words out without stuttering, another personal victory.

"Your design is most ingenious, would you be able to build a prototype for us to try out?" Eren felt his heart begin beating wildly, they liked his idea, they wanted to test it out! If he could get the military to come to him for machines then he would be able to keep himself, Mikasa, and Armin fed, no matter what Mikasa said about this idea he would go through with it if it meant going to sleep with a full stomach at night.

"Of course sir! It'll take some time to order a couple of the parts and put everything together but I should be able to have a working prototype for you in about a fortnight."

"Young man, if your invention succeeds you will have played a part in humanity's firs victory against the titans."

* * *

"Good work kid," Levi handed Eren a glass of some clear amber liquid before taking a sip from his own glass. "You did well today, I half-expected you to shit your pants the moment you went up in front of those guys and I'm pleased to see you didn't do that. If you had it would have caused a hell of a lot of problems for me, and I would take my frustration with them out on you, but hey, that didn't happen so there's no reason to worry about that happening anymore."

The teen took a tentative sniff of the spirit in front of him, it smelled sweet, overly sweet even, and he wasn't sure he liked it; he took a sip anyway and grimaced at the strong flavor.

"It seemed like Irwin was impressed with you, which says something because he's only impressed with things that will be useful to the legion. I think he liked your grit kid, you might be on your way to having a good future if you join us."

Eren had been in the middle of taking another drink from his glass when he choked. "Wha-?" He coughed several times into his hand. "Join you? What are you talking about?"

"If you want to help humanity you'll be needed at the base, to repair things and build the wings closer to where they're needed." Levi spoke as if such things were no big deal, like there was no reason for the brunet to be confused. "Since you're a mechanic and not a soldier your training will be less extreme, but you'll need to be able to hold yourself in a fight, whether it's against titans or humans."

"I thought I just had to design and build the wings, not join the military. Why didn't you tell me that before?" The teen felt as though he had been tricked into joining a gang, even though that was far from the case.

"I didn't realize it changed things." The man glanced over at Eren above the rim of his glass, an uninterested look in his eyes.

"Well it does, it changes things a lot; I can't leave Mikasa and Armin, they're depending on me for food and stuff, if I'm not there to get money for them, then they'll starve." That wasn't the only thing he was worried about, the real thing that frightened him was Mikasa's reaction when she found out what he was doing.

"We'll send a portion of your wages to your house so that doesn't happen."

"They'll want to follow me, you saw my sister, she's really overprotective of me, and Armin would join as well, because he's my friend. I can't put them in harm's way like that, and I don't want to leave the workshop unattended while I'm gone." Levi wasn't getting it, he didn't understand all the things tying him back from simply saying yes like he wanted to, because deep down he wanted to join the military and be of use to humanity.

"You're considering it though," the man said, continuing to drink. "I can see it in your eyes, but there are too many things in your way. You have a month to make up your mind on joining us or not, I'm giving you two weeks extra because I know everyone else would just have you admitted once you finished the prototype. I'm nice like that.

Eren wanted to say that no, it wasn't nice, it wasn't nice to not give people all the information about a job they were doing until it was almost too late, that wasn't nice at all. Once he got home Mikasa would want his head once she told him the ultimatum he'd been given, and Levi's head as well; then she'd plant their heads on stakes for all to see the fate of those who got on the wrong side of her.

Armin would be more forgiving, as was his nature, but still displeased by the recent turn of events, and the brunet wasn't sure which would be worse: his sister's untamed rage or his friend's quiet disapproval. Both would suck it seemed, and Eren drained the glass of the disgusting spirit in one gulp in a desperate hope that it would give him courage to face what was coming to him.

* * *

I keep updating on Wednesdays, even though that's when I have my 6 hr class. I must love you guys a whole lot.

I wrote this all today too. A lot of it came out of nowhere, like the talk about Eren's dad, and the idea of Eren joining the military. Writing is weird.

Also, I am not an engineer, I am not a mechanic. I am a culinary student with hardly any knowledge of how machines work, for the wings just pretend that they're possible to make and use, although in all honesty the 3DMG seems like the most logical thing to use against the titans.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, followed, bookmarked, given kudos or recommended this fic to others, I super appreciate it.

The romance will start once Eren's enlisted, because he and Levi will be spending more time together, this is just getting to know each other stuff!

Love you all!

Night!


	5. Scary World

I apologize for the lateness in this chapter, but I had stuff to do as secretary for my club, so I was unable to write for several days. Here's the chapter, I'll try to write another one this month, but nanowrimo is this month and it's been slow going. Yaaaaaay.

* * *

"They WHAT?!" Mikasa's face was red with anger, both fists clenched at her sides upon hearing what Eren had to say.

"Well, I talked with the military people today and they want me to join them, just as a mechanic though, not as an actual soldier; and I'm seriously considering it." The three of them had been seated upstairs around the kitchen table clutching mugs of either coffee or tea until Eren had let slip the conversation with Levi the day before and Mikasa had thrown a fit.

"Eren, you are trying to get yourself killed, I won't let this happen to you!" Her fists were shaking now, her temper barely under

"I'm not going to get myself killed, I'm not even going to be on the front lines. I'm just going to be their mechanic, build the wings, fix them if they break, that kind of stuff. I'll have to go through training so I can protect myself, in case there's ever a reason to. I'm not going to let you stop me from doing what I think is right, like you have so many times in the past, you're not my mom Mikasa, stop acting like it." The teen got to his feet, his face only inches away from his adoptive sister's.

"Look, stop it both of you." Armin decided it was his turn to speak, getting up from, the table and stepping between the two siblings. "Eren, Mikasa's just worried about you, we both are, we don't want you to get hurt, that's all it is. Mikasa, you have a tendency to be a bit overprotective, especially when it has anything to do with Eren. You both have trouble talking about things when the other one of you is involved and it's got to stop!" The blond took a deep breath. "Eren, why do you want to join the military?"

"Because I want to help humanity fight against the titans, people are dying out there every day and if I can do something to help them fight back I will." That was all there was to it in the teenager's mind, it was just so simple and straightforward to him and he couldn't see why it didn't make sense to the others.

"Good, we're making progress here. Now, Mikasa, why don't you want Eren to join the military?"

"He's not strong enough! He'll get killed out there for nothing! I know he wants to fight the titans but there's ways to do that without putting his neck on the line!"

"Eren, what do you have to say to that?" Armin's voice was calm, as though he'd had to mediate their fights in the past.

"Joining the military will help me get stronger, I'll train with the new recruits, learn how to defend myself so I won't be defenseless when the titans attack, because they will attack, you know that, right?"

"Fine! Get yourself killed for all I care!" Mikasa stormed away into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

There was a long and awkward silence before Eren spoke up. "Geez, what is her problem?"

Armin just sighed.

* * *

"Oy, brat, how are you coming along with packing? It seems like you've been at it for hours." As usual, Levi's voice was a mix between cross and bored, as was his expression. He had brought one of his family's carriages to put whatever needed transporting to the military's base and it was in the process of being loaded up, albeit slowly.

"I told you that Mikasa and Armin would want to join me so they're packing too and it's taking some time to get my notes and gear ready to go, so you'll have to wait a little-"

CRASH!

Smoke rose in the distance and the sounds of screaming could be heard even from far away, through the dark gray clouds the shadowy forms of giant, misshapen creatures could be seen, and Eren felt his blood boil within his veins. The last time he'd seen titans had been when he was ten; nine whole years ago, and his memory from back then was spotty at best. Now he saw their ugliness as though he were ten years old again, helpless and unable to move from where he was standing until the older man tugged on his arm.

"What are you doing brat?! You've got five minutes to grab whatever you can't live without and then you and your friends are leaving!" Levi was in the process of unsheathing a long sword from a scabbard at his waist and marching towards the giants, his expression stony.

"Where are you going?" The teen grasped the man's shoulder, forcing Levi to look him in the eyes.

"I'm a soldier, it's my job to fight these things whenever they show their ugly faces."

He realized then that the man was serious, this whole thing was really happening; titans were attacking and they could easily kill the teen. He had been too young when his mother had died to remember the terror he'd felt upon seeing the giants, but now his heart was racing, his mind frantically searching for something, anything he could do to help in this situation. The boy was helpless however, and the only thing to do was finish packing so he and his friends could leave the area before the titans came close enough to eat them.

Eren ran inside the house, desperate to wrap things up, throwing whatever belongings he hadn't gathered yet into a suitcase before he hauled it out to the carriage, soon followed by Mikasa and Armin who seemed to have done the same thing the brunet had. We were just about to leave when he remembered something he'd forgotten to grab, a framed picture of his mom which sat on the kitchen table, the teen had just left it behind, the only picture of her that he had. He couldn't leave her behind, what kind of son would he be if he did that?

"Eren!" Mikasa cried as Eren dashed back into the house, the titans were getting close and they needed to leave now, but the teen couldn't leave the picture behind, he just couldn't. A rock thudded to the ground nearby, spraying up dirt and debris with it and he grasped the wooden frame in his hands as he heard Levi's voice just outside, like he had when the older man had woken the brunet up what seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Where's Eren?" He demanded, his voice more scared than angry.

"He ran back inside the house!" That was Mikasa, who sounded upset about what Eren had chosen to do. She didn't know why he'd ventured back inside, it must have seemed like the teen was stupid or something for doing such a reckless thing. Hell, it was a stupid and reckless thing to do, but he had chosen to do it anyway, because he couldn't let his mother fall at the titan's hands again, that would be just too cruel.

"He what?" Now Levi sounded angry, and Eren couldn't really blame him. The brunet started off down the stairs, jumping down two or three of them at a time and bursting out of the house panting, his arms clutching the precious picture he put everyone in danger to protect. Once the three of them saw him they all reacted in different ways, Armin looked happy to see him, Mikasa looked shocked to see what the teen was carrying, and Levi, well, he looked annoyed to be honest.

"What the hell were you thinking brat? The titans are coming! Do you want to die?" His voice was more than irritated, it sounded furious that Eren would risk my life over something as silly as a picture.

"Mom," was the only thing the brunet could say in response, loosening his grip on the frame slightly so he could show just what it was to Levi in an attempt to explain his foolish actions. Instead of yelling at Eren again like the teen expected him to the man's expression softened and he just shrugged and motioned for the boy to get in the carriage before walking away, probably to do more soldierly things.

Inside the carriage Eren prayed for Levi not to get hurt, even though he had known him for less than a month the teen had grown attached to the man, and if he died Eren would feel responsible for it no matter how many good deeds he did for the rest of my life.

As the carriage pulled away Eren clutched the picture to my chest and wondered just how the man had become so important in his life.

* * *

Yeah, is this chapter boring? I can't tell. I've written over four thousand words in the past two days and it's kind of made everything run together. If the second half of this chapter seems oddly written it's because it was in first person, because that's what I'm using for my nano story. I had to go back and change everything to third person once I noticed I'd messed up.

I love all you readers, reviewers, followers, and every other person that likes this story.


	6. That'll Be the Way Home

The first night at the Scouting Legion barracks was strange for Eren, all his life had been spent in the little apartment above the garage and sleeping in an unfamiliar bed was hard to get used to; instead of sleeping he began working on the wings, spreading his project out on the kitchen table, building the framework and fiddling with the motor, struggling to make it light. It was around three in the morning when the barracks door opened and the soldiers returned, stumbling and limping, and the brunet was forced to stop his work and help patch wounds along with those who weren't too badly injured.

Levi bore only a few cuts and scrapes, apparently his title of Lance Corporal had been well earned because he seemed the least hurt of everyone who had come back; the man's eyebrows raised at the sight of Eren being up so late. The boy returned the look with one of his own that simply said "later."

After the last person had been bandaged up and sent to bed Eren and Levi were the only two people left in the room, the elder cleaning the blood off his hands and the younger staying quiet until he was addressed.

"What are you doing awake?" The question finally came out, but it wasn't harshly asked, it was just out of curiosity.

"I couldn't sleep, things are just so different here I couldn't get adjusted." He saw that the short man hadn't attended to his own injuries and pursed his lips together. "Let me help you with those."

"I can take care of them myself." Levi turned away and started fumbling with a roll of bandages before it was snatched out of his hands by the brunet.

"Sit down, I've been patching people up my whole life, lots of accidents happen in the shop that lead to getting hurt." The man reluctantly took off his jacket before he sat down on one of the chairs by the table and held out his arm for Eren to look at. The cut wasn't too deep, but it was long and hadn't stopped bleeding yet, the fabric of the coat absorbed most of the blood but it had stuck to the skin, leaving it sticky and red now that the jacket was gone. Of all Levi's injuries that seemed to be the worst, the rest were minor scrapes that required minor treatment from the teen and once they were all patched up the man smiled slightly.

"You're not half-bad at this Yeager."

"I told you, I've had a lot of practice." Eren couldn't help smiling a little at the compliment, whenever Levi praised something he did his insides became warm and fuzzy; he'd known this man for less than two months and yet the teen felt attached to him, so attached that the thought of never meeting again made him sad.

"You were a big help tonight, thanks for the assistance." The older man stood up, flexing his injured arm to test how tight the bandage was. "We should both probably go to bed though, you look like death. In the morning we'll go survey the damage from the attack and figure out what to do from there."

The brunet nodded, having not noticed just how tired he felt until it was mentioned. He stretched and yawned widely, covering his mouth with one hand. "Sounds like a plan." He muttered before stumbling to where his new bed was.

* * *

The destruction caused by the titan attack was larger than Eren had expected, entire blocks lay in ruin, and corpses littered the streets, some bitten in half, others covered in titan spit; it was horrifying to see, but Eren couldn't escape it. The smell of death hung heavy in the air, a combination of blood, sweat, and smoke which made his stomach churn and almost caused him to puke up his breakfast. Levi stood next to him, his face as expressionless as it always was, but there was a certain sadness in his eyes, almost like he was mourning all the lives that had been lost in one night.

It was possible that the man was doing just that, it was clear that Levi wasn't completely heartless in his speech and actions, but the life of a soldier must have hardened him up to the point where he could no longer express sadness on his face in the normal way. It was a bit sad to think that a person could have seen so much in their life to have affected them in such a way, but Eren had lived his whole life seeing soldiers and knew enough about them to know that only the new recruits smiled often.

For most of the journey to the workshop the teen kept his eyes averted so as to avoid looking at most of the wreckage done to the place he'd grown up in; it was heartbreaking, to see the streets he used to play in littered with debris and wreckage, tainting his memories with a foul black smog that threatened to never go away. A block away from the workshop Eren started to panic, balling his hands up into fists at his sides in an attempt to stop them from shaking and clenching his teeth so tightly it hurt.

Levi noticed the brunet's actions and turned so they were face to face, turquoise eyes meeting blue-gray. The older man flicked the teen in the forehead, which made Eren flinch, knocking him out of his worries. "Calm down, it won't do you any good to freak out if you don't know what's happened yet, you'll just tire yourself out before you get there. This is a warzone we live in, get used to the fact that your home could be gone, that's just a part of life nowadays; the titans are vicious creatures who we don't know much about, if you're not willing to accept that the world is unsafe and things can change in a split second then you have no place in the military. Maybe I was mistaken in what I thought you had."

The short man's words hurt, but he was right, they lived in uncertain times, wasn't that what his father had said all those years ago after his mother had died, killed in a titan attack while going shopping? The soldiers had found only half of her body in the marketplace ruins, Eren still blamed himself for her death, if only he had accepted her offer of going with her he might have done something to protect the person he cared most about. He still had nightmares about that day, although the details were made up entirely from a ten-year old's imagination.

In the dreams he saw Carla Yeager go off to the marketplace, as though watching her from one of the nearby houses, she went to a fruit merchant's stand, checking to see which apples were the best, but before she could purchase anything there was a crashing noise nearby and a dust cloud appeared in the distance. A titan loomed above the houses, stumbling through the street on unsteady legs, coming right for Eren's mother, who stood frozen in shock. She was scooped up in the titan's huge hand, kicking and screaming as she tried to break free. The titan opened his mouth, saliva dripping of its teeth, and the boy awoke, hearing the pained cries right before she was bitten in half. He always woke from those nightmares with tears in his eyes and went to Mikasa for comfort, no matter how old he got that dream never failed to stir up all the feelings of guilt and self-loathing he'd carried within him since that day.

"Oy, kid!" Levi's voice tore Eren from his thoughts, forcing him back to present day and the situation he was in, his cheeks felt damp and he lifted a hand to find he was crying. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," the teen murmured, wiping the tears from his face with the back of his hand. "Just thinking about the past, sorry if I worried you."

"You started crying out of nowhere, that's not nothing. Your sister mentioned something about your mother being killed by titans when you were little, was that what you were thinking about?"

Eren cursed Mikasa silently for telling Levi about his past, but after the way he'd acted yesterday, risking his life for that picture of her, he supposed the man did deserve an explanation.

"Yeah, the titans got her nine years ago, I wasn't there to protect her, and, well, things went downhill for our family after she died." He took a shaky breath. "My dad kind of lost it after that, he used to be this great mechanic, but he barely took any projects despite Mikasa and I being so young. I was forced to take over his work, claiming that he had done everything instead of me because if people found out my father wasn't taking care of us we'd be separated, and neither of us wanted that."

"We scraped through for four years, until Mikasa was old enough to get a job; with our combined incomes we were able to actually fill our stomachs for once." It was hard talking about the past, especially those years where he'd cried himself to sleep after not having enough to eat for weeks, wondering if his father would ever come back to him. There was a hand on his cheek, wiping away fresh tears.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Everyone has things in their past that they don't want to share with others." Levi looked mournful, there was a faraway look in his eyes, as though he knew exactly what Eren was feeling.

They continued on in silence down the street, finally arriving at the place where the workshop was, or at least, where it had been.

* * *

Well, guess who gave up on Nanowrimo? I found out I have no love for those characters so far. On the bright side, I'm still writing, dedicating my time to this story instead of the nano one.

I honestly didn't know I would be writing most of this, it just happened. I hope it's okay.

Once again I love any feedback on this. You all are awesome. If anyone is curious my tumblr is ms-monochrome.


	7. Pumping Lead Through Your Veins

Where the home Eren had grown up in had once stood was now a crumbling wreck, it seemed as though a titan had been slain right in front of the building and had fallen onto it, crushing the house and workshop entirely before disintegrating as all titans do. Only one wall was left standing, the others had collapsed and caused the second floor to fall down on top of the workshop; it was impossible to tell that the wreckage used to be a place to live in, especially that it had been that way only a day before.

The teen sank to his knees upon seeing the remains of his boyhood home, hands clenched into fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Those blue-green eyes of his were wide with horror as he stared at nothing in particular and as Levi watched they filled up with tears for the second time in an hour. The man felt helpless as he watched the brunet tremble in helplessness, unable to say anything to comfort or reassure him that life would get better in the future. Wasn't this just proof that nothing was certain? That nothing would last forever? After minutes of a silence that stretched so thin it was becoming unbearable he finally managed to say "at least nobody was inside it." It wasn't much to assure Eren that things weren't as bad as they seemed, but it was the only bright spot on a horizon painted black.

There was a small sigh before the boy responded, a strangled, weak thing that hurt to listen to. "Yeah, that's the only thing that's good about this mess. I would never forgive myself if Mikasa or Armin had been stuck inside when it happened."

Another awkward silence filled the air, taut like a bowstring, ready to snap at whoever broke it first; Eren ended up speaking though, his voice shaky. "Let's head back." He said, rising to his feet and brushing the dirt off his pants.

The walk back to the barracks was quiet, neither person spoke a word the entire time, one being in shock, the other just feeling awkward that he was unable to console his friend. At the realization of how he thought of Eren the man was taken aback, when had this teenager gotten close enough to him to have become a friend? It was strange, they'd only known each other a few months, but now they were on good enough terms for Levi to feel pain if the other was hurting, something that wasn't second nature to him at all.

Levi was a soldier, he'd been trained to not feel things so as to not let emotions sway him in the heat of battle, and yet this child was reminding him of all those feelings he'd forgotten about, something that hadn't even happened with Petra, whom he was supposed to marry. It was surreal, and yet not entirely unwanted, the older man didn't mind being reminded of how it felt to laugh at something funny, to have something touch him so much it made him want to cry, it made him feel young again, like he'd gone back to before he'd ever started fighting, before he'd lost so much that he cared about.

Upon reaching what was now both Levi and Eren's home now the short man clapped the teen on the back, trying to be comforting. "Go lie down, you didn't sleep well last night and after what you've just seen... well, you deserve the rest." It was the most he could do without taking off that carefully placed mask he'd built up over the years, hiding the man he'd been so long ago, it had been so many years since he'd first put it on that he wasn't exactly sure what would show if he ever took the thing off.

Thankfully the brunet took his advice and headed upstairs to where his bed was, stumbling a bit as he went, and clearly still in shock from what he'd seen just an hour earlier. On the floor above the voices of his friends, Mikasa and Armin had it been, mingled with Eren's both clearly concerned about the boy's well-being since it was obvious that he was not thinking straight.

Rather than eavesdrop on whatever conversation the three of them might be having Levi chose to head to his office, he had a mountain of paperwork to get through and as much as he prayed for there to be one, no such machine existed that would go through it for him. Upon opening the door he saw that the pile on his desk was even larger than he'd originally thought it was, it seemed to have grown since the last time he'd laid eyes upon it, and with a sinking heart he sat down, pulled out a pen and grabbed the paper on top of the stack, sighing as he scanned it over.

The minutes dragged by, every time he looked at his clock he was disheartened to discover that only half an hour or so had passed since the last time he'd checked, despite the fact he'd gone over a half-dozen or so reports in that time. He had started to read a paper on the condition of a nearby town when the door creaked open, reminding him that he had yet to oil it, as that noise was really starting to get to him, when Levi glanced up to see just who it was disturbing him he was shocked to find out it was Eren. The boy's eyes were red and bloodshot from crying, but his jaw was set in a frown that showed he had something to say, and it most likely was based on what he had seen only a few hours earlier.

"Sir, I have a request," the teen's voice was hoarse, but it didn't waver at all when he spoke.

"What is it Yeager?" The older man placed his pen down on the desk, thankful for the break in the boring task he was doing.

"I no longer want to just be the Scouting Legion's mechanic, I… I want to fight on the front lines against the titans."

Levi raised an eyebrow at the boy, wondering if he'd heard things correctly. "Are you sure about this? Won't your sister protest? She seemed pretty adamant on you having nothing to do with the military whats-"

"I don't care what she wants!" Eren's voice came out a yell, the teen's fists clenched at his side in anger, those turquoise eyes shining brightly even in the dim light of the office. "Those damn things have taken practically everything from me, I can't just sit by and let them continue to do whatever they want, I want to fight!"

"Look kid, I can understand what you're feeling right now-"

"How can you possibly understand how I feel?"

"Because I've lost a lot of things too." It was true, Levi had lost more things than he could count on both hands, and both feet even. "While most of them were comrades, I also lost my parents at a young age, my home too. Don't you dare say I don't know what it's like to lose things, because I'll bet I've lost more than you'll ever have a chance to know about."

"Alright, I'm sorry for saying that, I was out of line to do so. It's just, those damn titans took my mom, now they took my house, I don't have much left to lose anymore. What's more, I'm sick of losing things to them, I want to fight back, not just for my own sake, but to protect other people as well."

The older man looked into the brunet's determined eyes and grinned. "That's a good reason to fight, you shouldn't act on anger alone, it's reckless and leads to people getting killed; fighting to prevent other people from feeling the way you do, now that's a different matter completely. You are welcome to join us as a soldier, so long as you fulfill your duties as a mechanic as well, your training will start tomorrow morning at sunrise, don't be late."

* * *

Short chapter this time, sorry about that. It's six in the morning and I can't think of anything else to add to this. No, I didn't stay up until now writing this, I woke up around four and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to finish this chapter. I hope it's satisfactory.

As always, any feedback is awesome, thanks to everyone who not only reads this but also reviews, favorites, follows, bookmarks, or gives kudos. It means so much to know my story is liked.

On another note, I hit 10,000 words! What a milestone eh? I'm happy.


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